BASEBALL; In Johnson, Mets Finally Find an Ace They Can Top

By TYLER KEPNER

Published: July 2, 2006

The longest losing streak of the Mets' season had something to do with their opponents. On consecutive days, they lost to Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling and got one hit against Mike Mussina and his relievers. The specter of Randy Johnson loomed next.

Johnson, the Yankees' left-hander, can still inspire fear. He has accomplished more than all the pitchers who contributed to the Mets' four-game losing streak. But as he nears his 43rd birthday, he is not consistently dominant anymore.

Johnson had gone 101 starts without allowing eight runs in a game, dating to April 11, 2003, when he pitched for Arizona. He said his stuff was good yesterday, but the facts showed otherwise. Johnson gave up eight runs in six innings as the Mets smacked the Yankees, 8-3, in the Bronx.

''I felt like my stuff was there,'' Johnson said. ''I know I pitched bad, I know I gave up eight runs, but I felt better than what the line score indicates. Regardless, we didn't win and I pitched bad. But, stuff-wise, I felt pretty good.

''I feel like I've been pitching well for the last month. This game wasn't indicative of that, but you move on. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.''

Since his final start in May, Johnson has pitched well more often than not. He threw hard yesterday, with a fastball that stayed around 95 miles an hour and helped him strike out seven.

But when Johnson missed his location, the Mets took advantage. Two of his three walks hurt him, and all eight hits he allowed contributed to runs. The final one was a home run by the No. 9 batter, Eli Marrero.

''A lot of balls in the middle of the plate, especially with his fastball,'' catcher Jorge Posada said, explaining how things went wrong for Johnson. ''When he got hit, he was behind in the count pretty much the whole time. Other than the home run to Marrero, when he made a pretty good pitch, his pitches were all over the plate.''

The Mets, who mustered only an opposite-field single Friday, were happy to take advantage. Manager Willie Randolph's lineup featured nine right-handed batters with a combined .289 average against Johnson.

They raised that average immediately, with three hits in the first inning. Jos?eyes poked a single to right, and Paul Lo Duca pulled a double down the third-base line. With one out, David Wright doubled over Melky Cabrera's head in left-center field.

It was 2-0, Mets, and after the third out, Johnson's first-inning earned run average had risen to 10.00 (20 earned runs in 18 innings). Why the early problems? ''I don't know,'' Johnson said.

The Yankees seemed poised to come back in their half of the first. Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter singled off Steve Trachsel, who threw three balls to Jason Giambi, his former teammate at Long Beach State.

Looking back, Giambi said he should have swung at the 3-0 pitch, figuring it would be the best he would see. But in this case, Giambi's trademark patience worked against him.

''I should have swung 3-0, and I was telling myself that, too,'' Giambi said. ''When I was walking around, I was like, 'I need to swing at this pitch, but if he throws me a high fastball, I'd hate to pop one up to the dish without having seen a strike.' ''

Giambi took the 3-0 pitch for a strike, then got a break when he popped up a changeup behind the plate. Catcher Ram?astro collided with the umpire, Gerry Davis, and the ball landed safely on the dirt near the stands.

Manager Joe Torre sent the runners with a full count, but Giambi took a low, tailing fastball for strike three. Castro fired to third, easily nabbing Damon for a crushing double play.

''I should have tried to foul it off,'' Giambi said. ''It was down and away. I'm not going to do anything with that pitch at all.''

The Yankees tied the score in the third inning on a bases-loaded single by Alex Rodriguez and a double-play grounder by Posada. Trachsel fell behind Andy Phillips, 2-0, but Phillips flied to the warning track to end the inning with a man on third. The Yankees were never close again.

Johnson walked Wright to lead off the fourth. Then Julio Franco singled, winning a pitcher-batter matchup with a combined age of 89. Johnson hit Xavier Nady in the leg with a pitch, but Davis missed the call and the at-bat continued.

Johnson struck out Nady, but that did not change the momentum. After Chris Woodward worked a tough walk -- Torre called it the game's turning point -- Castro singled in two runs. It was 4-2, Mets, and after another strikeout, two singles broke the game open.

So a gorgeous day had turned gloomy for the Yankees, who are averaging three runs a game this homestand despite winning five of eight. Clearly, injuries to Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield and Robinson Can?e catching up with the offense.

''Pitchers aren't going to say, 'Oh, well, you've got some guys out, so I'm going to take it easy on the rest of the lineup,' '' Jeter said. ''That doesn't happen. You just have to find ways to get the job done. Guys that are filling in have to pick up the slack.''

But that is not happening, and the Yankees have not made a trade. For them, the most encouraging sight may have come after the game. As sprinklers watered the grass, Matsui did his postgame throwing routine.

With his mangled wrist, he was not holding a bat. But it was a start. Matsui wants to come back in August, and that will not be a moment too soon. The Yankees can only hope it will not be too late.

Photo: The Mets' José Reyes sliding into home in the fourth after a single by Paul Lo Duca drove in him and Ramón Castro. (Photo by Suzy Allman for The New York Times)(pg. 1); Alex Rodriguez batting against Steve Trachsel yesterday. Rodriguez had two hits, including his 17th homer. (Photo by Suzy Allman for The New York Times)(pg. 3)